Haworth, Inc.

American Seating Company

Larry Allen Wilkerson

Richard N Roslund, Jr

Teresa A Bellingar

Joe Willette

Pete J Beyer

Michael W Welsh

Patrick C Nelson

Gardner Klassen

Mark Tomandl

Joel Dral

Peter J Beyer

Chester J Barecki

Joern Dallmann

John Clark

Wesley D Mersman

Troy Roark

Eric Johnson

Steve Simpson

Steve Gager

Keith Page

Matthew B Rutman

Martin W Potrykus

Mark B Saffell

Nicolai Czumaj-Bront

David J Ritch

Kyle R Fleet

Robert T Ritt

Peter T LaDuke

Thomas M Perrin

Johannes Uhlenbrock

Douglas M Thole

Jason W Hall

Kevin W McMains

Robert Leonetti

Gary Kiesgen

Timothy J Scholma

Michael Kriener

Joel Robert Dral

Jason Hall

Pete Laduke

Timothy Scholma

A back support for a chair includes a chair frame, a pair of upright support posts mounted to the chair frame, the upright support posts being laterally flexible with respect to the chair frame, a plurality of flexible support arms extending laterally outwardly from the upright support posts, the support arms each including a peripheral edge, the support arms including a first set of support arms extending in a first lateral direction from the upright posts and a second set of support arms extending in a second direction from the upright posts; and a material extending in tension between the peripheral edges of the first set of support arms and the peripheral edges of the second set of support arms such that at least a central portion of the material is spaced from the support arms. In addition, a seat support includes a repositionable front edge.

Office chair

An office chair is provided having a back assembly which is configured to provide supplemental support to the back of a chair occupant in addition to the support provided by the primary support surface of the chair back. The chair back includes a lumbar support unit having a lumbar support pad that includes a plurality of support rings disposed one inside of the other.

Chair back with lumbar and pelvic supports

A seat has a first ischial region, a second ischial region, a tailbone region and a thigh transitional region, each having at least one slot. Each slot generally opens outward, away from a center of the seat. Each slot may have an elongated central portion and two distal portions extending from the central portion. The central portion and distal portions may have a specific configuration relative to each other to provide desired support characteristics. The slots may allow flexing and cantilevering of portions of the seat to dynamically contour the seat based on the weight of the user.

Flexible seating surface

A seat has a first ischial region, a second ischial region, a tailbone region and a thigh transitional region, each having at least one slot. Each slot generally opens outward, away from a center of the seat. Each slot may have an elongated central portion and two distal portions extending from the central portion. The central portion and distal portions may be substantially linear and may have a specific configuration relative to each other to provide desired support characteristics. The slots may allow flexing and cantilevering of portions of the seat to dynamically contour the seat based on the weight of the user. Multiple grooves may be included at the front of the seat to facilitate curling of the front of the seat.

An office chair is provided having a back assembly which is configured to provide supplemental support to the back of a chair occupant in addition to the support provided by the primary support surface of the chair back. The chair back includes a lumbar support unit having a lumbar support pad wherein asymmetric support is provided to the left and right halves of the lumbar pad. As such, the asymmetric support loads are independently adjustable to more comfortably support a chair occupant. The chair back also includes a pelvic support pad which is disposed vertically adjacent to the lumbar support.

Lumbar support for an office chair

An office chair is provided having a contoured back assembly comprising a back frame and a suspension fabric. The fabric is attached to the back frame through a spline wherein the back frame has a three-dimensional contoured shape formed by overlapped frame rings with the fabric being joined thereto by a spline. The fabric is secured to the frame by a machine wherein the fabric is first stretched from the outer edge of the fabric and then is clamped to a frame surface in the pre-tensioned or pre-streched condition. The fabric edges are allowed to hang loose and then fixed in the frame by a spline. Once secured, the fabric is unclamped from the frame.

Assembly apparatus and process for a chair back

A chair is provided having a seat with a resiliently deflectable shell defining a front portion thereof. The front shell is deflectable downwardly in response to the user. An adjustment mechanism is provided which controls the deflected position of the front shell section to provide for controlled deflection of the seat which adjusts the effected length of the seat while also providing for user responsive deflection of the seat.

Chair having a seat with adjustable front edge

An office chair is provided having a contoured back assembly comprising a back frame and a suspension fabric. The fabric is attached to the back frame about its periphery wherein the back frame has a three-dimensional contoured shape formed by overlapped frame rings with the fabric being joined thereto. The fabric is secured to the frame by a machine wherein the fabric is first stretched from the outer edge of the fabric and then is clamped by a front frame section in the pre-tensioned or pre-streched condition. The fabric edges are allowed to hang loose and then fixed in the front frame section. Once secured, the fabric is unclamped from the front frame section, and then this sub-assembly is affixed to the rear frame ring to complete the assembly of the back frame.

Method for assembling a frame assembly for a chair

An office chair is provided having a back assembly which is configured to provide supplemental support to the back of a chair occupant in addition to the support provided by the primary support surface of the chair back. The chair back includes a lumbar support unit having a lumbar support pad wherein asymmetric support is provided to the left and right halves of the lumbar pad. As such, the asymmetric support loads are independently adjustable to more comfortably support a chair occupant. A testing apparatus and method are used to optimize the support pressure characteristics of the lumbar pad.

Apparatus and process for determining lumbar configuration in a chair

Growing community of inventors

Comstock Park, MI, United States of America

Larry Allen Wilkerson